Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

Obama: Debate Winner or Loser?

By

Not a scientific poll, but Drudge sez “Loser” 65/32.

What do the other polls suggest?

Please share widely!
fb-share-icon
Tweet
0

Comments

  1. CNN/Opinion Research 51% thought Obama did better,  38% thought McCain  did better
    http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITI…

    <

    p>CNN Online Quick Poll –online.  
    Sen. John McCain 26%     50763
    Sen. Barack Obam67%     131308
    Neither 7% 12793
    Total Votes: 194864

    <

    p>

  2. McCain did much better than I expected and Obama did worse than expected . . . so I see no clear winner. So despite what polls say I think Obama really needs to step it up a notch in the next debate.

    <

    p>I mean where the hell was he when McCain was touting his I’m as a former POW I’m against torture credentials that he completely went back on when voting to say “waterboarding” isn’t a form of torture. That was one of many easy hits that Obama just did not take.  

    <

    p>I truly expected him to do better. Plus if the debate was a battle of soundbites (which unfortunately it now is) McCain clearly won – Obama obviously needs to take a note from Hillary and get some good one liners that the press can recycle in today’s news.  

    • McCain is a 25-30 yr politician and is very used to big stage appearances.  He is on Sunday talk shows regularly.   I have seen McCain debate very well before, I was not surprised by him at all.   I am cynical about political behavior so I was suspecting that some of McCain’s erratic behavior this week was mostly political theater – in part with a side benefit of reducing expectations.   Part of me was secretly hoping that the confused McCain showed up, but I mostly wanted to see a professional debate.  He did a little better than I expected over-all

      <

      p> If you can find it Kerry and McCain did an excellent debate on Iraq – on MTP last August or September.    

      <

      p>     I even think that some Republican campaign advisors are pleased by Palin’s recent weak interview performances with a side-benefit of lowering expectations.      

      <

      p>I got a very different impression of Obama’s performance than you.   There is visual take-away also aside from sound bites.   The image of Obama looking at McCain vs McCain never making eye contact works to Obamas favor.   Obama was very pointed on deflecting the “Surge” talking point :  “Senator McCain seems to think the war started in 2007.”  (loose quote).     There have been lots of debates that Obama looks tired and seems to have word-finding difficulties.  He looked rested last night like he did in his first one-on-one debate with Hillary Clinton.     Like McCain he did a little better last night than I expected.

  5. From CNN via TPM Election Central

    <

    p>

    Regardless of which candidate you happen to support, who do you think did the best job in the debate — Barack Obama or John McCain?
    Obama 51%
    McCain 38%
    Did _____ do a better or worse job than you expected?
    Obama: Better 57%, Worse 20%, Same 23%
    McCain: Better 60%, Worse 20%, Same 18%

    Next, regardless of which presidential candidate you support, please tell me if you think Barack Obama or John McCain would better handle each of the following issues:

    • The war in Iraq: Obama 52%, McCain 47%

    • Terrorism: McCain 49%, Obama 45%

    • The economy: Obama 58%, McCain 37%

    • The current financial crisis: Obama 54%, McCain 36%

    Thinking about the following characteristics and qualities, please say whether you think each one better described Barack Obama or John McCain during tonight’s debate:

    • Was more intelligent: Obama 55%, McCain 30%

    • Expressed his views more clearly: Obama 53%, McCain 36%

    • Spent more time attacking his opponent: McCain 60%, Obama 23%

    • Was more sincere and authentic: Obama 46%, McCain 38%

    • Seemed to be the stronger leader: Obama 49%, McCain 43%

    • Was more likeable: Obama 61%, McCain 26%

    • Was more in touch with the needs and problems of people like you: Obama 62%, McCain 32%

    Based on what _____ said and did in tonight’s debate, do you think he would be able to handle the job of president if he is elected?
    Obama 69%-29%
    McCain 68%-30%

    <

    p>And then this:

    <

    p>

    And the numbers released so far from the CBS poll of undecided debate-watchers: 39% said Obama won, 25% said McCain won, and 36% said it was a draw. Forty-six percent said their opinions of Obama went up, compared to only 31% who said the same about McCain. On the economy, 66% said Obama would make the right decisions, compared to 44% who said the same for McCain.

    • Obama came off as more likable and more in touch.  Not quite “guy you want to have a beer with” territory, but still the stuff that wins elections.

    • I will extrapolate the true “winner” of the debates based on how the pools change. If Obama won the debate his polls should go up and vice versa. That will take out the “subjective” nature of the debate winner question.

      <

      p>PS If it shows Obama winning big… then sad to say but the fat lady is warming up!

      • It’s hard to conceive of a major-party candidate getting much less than the 43% McCain is getting know.  If McCain stays mired in the 42-43 range, Obama won just by virtue of not letting slip any of his significant lead.

        <

        p>I’ll be interested to see what happens in NH, IN, and NC over the next few days.  If Obama puts New Hampshire away, and Indiana and North Carolina truly become competitive, McCain is looking at very long odds.

        <

        p>

    • …and now supports Obama and says there is NO way he could vote for McCain.

      <

      p>He said that Obama “showed steel and sense” but that McCain “looked like a corpse” and “blew it by calling Pakistan a ‘failed state like Sudan’ so badly as to be really scary.

      <

      p>My son is a senior at UMASS Boston in criminal justice and really quite conservative, so I thought you would all find this of interest.

  6. would say it was a clear win for McCain.

    <

    p>On a separate but related note, the polls are clearly lining up in favor of Obama. Fox’s latest poll results show independents decidedly moving to Obama when compared to their previous polls. That’s bad news for McCain since the win is going to lie in the swing vote.

  7. McCain did much better than I expected and Obama did worse than expected . . . so I see no clear winner. So despite what polls say I think Obama really needs to step it up a notch in the next debate.

    <

    p>I mean where the hell was he when McCain was touting his I’m as a former POW I’m against torture credentials that he completely went back on when voting to say “waterboarding” isn’t a form of torture. That was one of many easy hits that Obama just did not take.  

    <

    p>I truly expected him to do better. Plus if the debate was a battle of soundbites (which unfortunately it now is) McCain clearly won – Obama obviously needs to take a note from Hillary and get some good one liners that the press can recycle in today’s news.  

Archives